Method and device for printing images and/or text on packaging material and then forming packages for containing liquid beverage or other materials out of the printed packaging material

ABSTRACT

In a method for the packaging of a bulk material or material in packaging units, which are formed in a filling and packaging plant ( 4 ) from the packaging material that is fed to this station before and/or during the filling with the bulk material or material to be packaged, the printing of the packaging material is printed in a printing station that is upstream of the filling or packaging station in the feed direction of the packaging material.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a method described herein and to a device forthe performance of this method described herein.

The prior art describes production or packaging lines with filling orpackaging stations for the packaging of a bulk material in packagingunits which are formed from a packaging material that is fed to thepackaging station. The packaging material can be a single-ply ormulti-ply flat material, e.g. a laminated multi-ply packaging materialmade of cardboard, plastic and/or metal film, from which the respectivepackaging unit is formed in the filling or packaging station or in astation upstream of the filling of packaging station, or the packagingmaterial can be a tubular packaging material from which, in thepackaging or filling station or in the station upstream, the individualpackaging unit, which can be in the shape of a bag or pillow, forexample, by sealing and separation.

Bulk material or material to be packaged within the meaning of theinvention includes all products which can be packaged in such packagingunits. Bulk material or material to be packaged within the meaning ofthe invention includes but is not limited to liquid, viscous or pastyproducts, in particular foods and beverages such as milk, cream, wineetc. as well as non-liquid or dry products, e.g. in the form of powderor granulate etc.

Regardless of the type of the individual packaging and/or of the bulkmaterial being filled of packaged, in the prior art, for the formationof the packaging units, a pre-printed packaging material has been used,the printing and/or labeling of which can be very different fordifferent products and brands in terms of imagery and/or graphics and/orcolor and/or text. It is therefore necessary, among other things, duringthe packaging, to select packaging material that is appropriate to theindividual product, and to change the packaging material when apackaging or production line is converted from one product to anotherproduct.

The prior art also describes a print head which is intended for theprinting of flat print stock and with which a plurality of printed dotscan be produced in a line immediately next to one another or at a verysmall distance from one another, for example at least one hundred fiftyprinted dots per inch on a surface of the stock to be printed, andspecifically by means of a plurality of individually actuatableindividual nozzles.

The active printing width of this print head, which is also known by thename “Tonejet”, is dependent only on the capacity of the computing powerof a computer that actuates the print head. Thus, for example, printheads with a printing width of 1.7-6.8 inches (corresponding to a256-bit actuation or a 1024-bit actuation) are possible. With this printhead, a two-dimensional impression can be printed with a sufficientlylarge surface by a relative movement between the surface to be printedand the printing head only in one single axial direction.

OBJECT OR OBJECTS

The object of the invention is to create a method with which printedpackaging units filled with a bulk material to be packaged can beformed, even when the labeling or printing is different.

SUMMARY

The invention teaches that this object can be accomplished by a methoddescribed herein. A device for the performance of the method is alsodescribed herein.

One special characteristic of the method claimed by the invention isthat not only is the information required for the overall appearance ofthe individual packaging unit, but at least a significant portion of theprinting and/or labeling of the packaging unit is applied to thepackaging material in a printing unit immediately before the formationof the packaging and/or immediately before the packaging is filled withthe material to be packaged, preferably to the packaging material whenit is still flat. Consequently, when it is necessary to change thelabeling of the packaging units, it becomes possible, among otherthings, to use one and the same packaging material as the primarymaterial simply by a corresponding setting or conversion of theprinting.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the printing unit isrealized so that the individual printed image on the packaging as afunction of the actuation by an electronic control unit or a computer,and specifically on the basis of a printing template which is formedelectronically or by a software dataset, and is stored, for example, ina memory of the control device or of the computer. By modifying thisprinting template, it is easily possible to modify the appearance of thepackaging, and specifically in any respect, for example the texts,graphics, colors, image, as well as with regard to the size and shape ofthe individual impression.

The invention therefore makes it possible, among other things and ifnecessary, to easily modify and/or to update the individual packaging,and specifically, for example, as a function of the respective productand/or as a function of the respective brand etc. It is also possible toadapt the size of the impression to the size of the packaging unit or toselect an impression that is adapted to the size of the packaging unitand/or to modify or to vary the impression or parts of the impressioneven while the process is running.

The invention also offers the capability of modifying the impressionfrom one product unit to the next product unit, i.e. from one containerto the next container.

The printing unit preferably has at least one print head which ispreferably realized in the form of a “Tonejet” print head or in the formof a print head that is equivalent to such a “Tonejet” print head. Aprint head of this type has, in a printing area which is located for theprinting of the surface to be printed opposite and at a short distancefrom this surface, a plurality of individual nozzles which are arrangedone immediately after another in a longitudinal axis of the print head,and each of which is formed by a nozzle aperture and by an electrodeassociated with each nozzle aperture. The printing ink present in theprint head is discharged at each individual nozzle or from theassociated nozzle aperture only when, for the activation of anindividual nozzle, an electrical voltage is applied to the electrodewhich is associated with this individual nozzle, whereby the polarityand/or potential of the voltage differ from the polarity and/orpotential of the print head or the printing ink in the print head, sothat as a result of electrostatic forces, a specified quantity ofprinting ink is discharged or ejected from the nozzle aperture of theactivated individual nozzle. A print head of this type is also called an“electrostatic print head” below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to theaccompanying figures which show one exemplary embodiment of theinvention, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified illustration of a packaging unit in the form of arectangular or square cardboard packaging unit;

FIG. 2 is a highly schematic function diagram of a production plant forthe forming and filling of the packaging units illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the print heads, realized in theform of electrostatic print heads, of a printing unit of the plantillustrated in FIG. 2, together with the packaging material to beprinted;

FIG. 4 is a side view of one of the print heads of the printing unitillustrated in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT OR EMBODIMENTS

In the figures, 1 is a packaging unit made of a single-ply or multi-plypackaging material 1.1, for example from a cardboard laminated with atleast one plastic and/or metal film and filled with a liquid to bepackaged, for example with a beverage (milk, milk product, juice, wineetc.), whereby the package is provided with an optical decoration on itsoutside surface which is formed at least in partial areas by at leastone impression 2. This impression can be realized in a wide variety ofpossible forms, and specifically, among other things, with regard to theproduct and/or brand being packaged, in terms of its appearance and/orgraphics and/or color and/or text.

FIG. 2 shows, in a highly schematic illustration, a production orbottling plant 3 for the forming of packaging units 1 from the initiallyflat packaging material 1.1 for subsequent filling of the packagingunits 1 with the liquid to be packaged and for the closing of the filledpackaging units 1. The central functional unit of the production plant 3is a station or unit 4 to which the flat, strip-format packagingmaterial 1.1 is fed from a supply 5, e.g. in the form or a roll, in thedirection indicated by the arrow A and in which the individual packagingunits 1 are formed from the packaging material 1.1, filled with theliquid being packaged and closed. The filled and closed packaging units1 are then fed as indicated by the arrow B via a conveyor 6 for anadditional application, e.g. to a packing station (not shown) in whichthe packaging units 1 are combined into larger bundles, for example.

In the transport or feed direction A of the packaging material 1.1,upstream of the unit 4, there is a printing station 7 through which thepackaging material 1.1 is moved for the application of the impressions2. A special feature of the production plant 3 is that the printing ofthe packaging material 1.1 takes place only immediately before the useof this material, i.e. immediately before the forming of the packagingunits 1. As a result, among other things, it is possible to use aneutral material as the packaging material 1.1 which is provided withthe impressions 2 desired for the packaging units 1 only immediatelybefore it is used, and/or to provide a packaging material which isalready partly printed and/or contains colors, graphic images and text,and then to provide it with the additional printed impressions 2 onlyimmediately before it is used, to achieve the appearance desired for thepackaging units 1.

In detail, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment the printing station7 consists, in the direction of travel or feed A of the packagingmaterial 1.1, sequentially of a preheater unit 8, a printing unit 9 nextto the preheater unit 8, a unit 10 which is next to the printing unit 9to dry the individual impression 2 or the printed image, andspecifically as a function of the printing ink used for the impressions2 by heating or a heat treatment and/or by UV treatment etc.

An additional essential feature of the production line 3 is that theprinting unit 9 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 consist of a plurality ofprint heads 11, each of which is oriented transversely orperpendicularly to the direction of travel A of the packaging material1.1 at a short distance above the packaging material 1.1 which in theillustrated embodiment is guided horizontally or approximatelyhorizontally in the vicinity of the printing station 7 or above theprinting plane formed by the packaging material 1.1. The print heads 11thereby extend, for example, over the entire width of the flat packagingmaterial 1.1.

To achieve the highest possible printing capacity (number of impressions2 per unit of time) with an optimal print quality, the print heads 11 inthis exemplary embodiment are realized in the form of electrostaticprint heads. For multiple-color printing, there are three individualprint heads 11, each of which is used to print one color set of themulticolor printing. The print heads 11 thus contain different printcolors in the required shades, e.g. red, blue and yellow. Basically itis also possible to provide additional print heads 11 on the printingunit 9, for example a fourth print head 11 for black printing.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each print head 11 consists essentially of ahousing 12 which forms, among other things, a closed interior 13 whichholds the liquid or viscous ink. Each housing 12 is realized so that theinterior 13 is tapered in a funnel or wedge shape toward a lower housingsegment 12.1. In this housing segment 12.1 which extends over the entirelength of each print head 11 or of the housing 12 and is orientedparallel to a housing or print head longitudinal axis DL and thus alsoparallel to the printing plane and perpendicular or transverse to thetransport direction A, there are a plurality of individually actuatableindividual nozzles 14 for the controlled discharge of the printing ink,and specifically arranged in at least one row in the direction of theprint head axis DL one after another and densely packed, so that forexample one hundred fifty or more individual dots 14 per inch are formedon the housing segment 12.1. With the housing segment 12.1 which has theindividual nozzles 14, each print head 11 is located in the abovementioned specified short distance above the packaging material 1.1 tobe printed or above the printing plane.

During the printing, the packaging material 1 is moved in the directionof travel A continuously or in a clocked cycle past the respective printhead 11. As a result of the above mentioned orientation of the printheads 11, the direction of feed or travel A is transverse, butpreferably perpendicular to the print head longitudinal axis DL. In theillustrated exemplary embodiment the print heads 11 are also orientedwith their print head longitudinal axes DL parallel to one another, andspecifically preferably in a common horizontal plane.

Each individual nozzle 14 consists of an aperture 15 and of aneedle-shaped electrode 16 which is associated with this opening, isoriented equi-axially with the axis of the aperture 15 and ends at ashort distance from this aperture in the interior 13 of the housing.Each print head 11 is further realized so that at least during theprinting process, the printing ink in the interior of the housing 13presses with a certain hydrostatic pressure against the apertures 15 ofthe individual nozzles. The cross section of the openings 15, however,is selected in consideration of the viscosity and/or the surface tensionof the ink so that when the individual nozzle 14 is not activated, inkdoes not escape from the apertures 15 in spite of the hydrostaticpressure.

The electrodes 16 and thus also the individual nozzles 14 can beactuated individually by means of a control device 17, and specificallyso that when the individual nozzle 14 is not activated the correspondingelectrode 16 is at the same electrostatic potential as the ink in theinterior 13 of the housing. When an electrode 16 is activated, thepotential is modified by a corresponding actuation of the control device17 briefly or in a pulsed manner, so that ink is discharged via theaperture 15 to produce a printed dot 18 on the packaging material 1.1.

Because the print heads 11 are oriented with their print headlongitudinal axis DL transversely or perpendicular to the travel or feeddirection A of the packaging material 1.1, the printing is done on thepackaging material in rows which run perpendicular to the lengthwisedirection or in the direction of travel A over the full width of thearea to be printed, and namely progressively in the travel or feeddirection A. The printed area extends, for example, over the full widthor almost over the full width of the packaging material 11, so that inthe printing station 7 all the sides of the later packaging unit 1 areprinted, whereby by a corresponding actuation of the individual nozzles14, the printing is applied so that every side of the finished packagingunit 1 then has a visually self-contained impression and can alsocontain, for example, text and/or informational components of theimpression that do not extend over the edges of the packaging unitformed from the packaging material 1.1. There are also otherpossibilities for the design of the impressions by means ofcorresponding actuation of the print heads or of the individual nozzles14.

For the printing, only a single movement of the packaging material 1.1relative to the respective print head 11 is necessary, namely the feedmovement of the packaging material. This feature makes it possible toachieve a high printing speed, capacity or output. The respectiveprinted image is generated 100% digitally in the control device 17 forthe corresponding actuation of the individual nozzles 14 and is storedin the control device 17 or in a memory located in the control device,e.g. in the form of a digital dataset.

The packaging material 1.1 is printed with the printing unit 9 so thatthe individual impression and/or the graphic and/or color design and/ordecoration of the packaging material 1.1 is produced in its entirety bythe printing unit 9 on the neutral packaging material 1.1 and/or theprinting unit 9 is used to supplement an existing impression on thepackaging material 1.1 in a desired fashion, for example by adding text,colors and/or graphics.

Because the packaging material 1.1 is printed only immediately beforethe use of this material to form the packaging units 1 and as a resultof the actuation of the printing unit 9 and the print heads 11 locatedin it by the electronic printing unit 17 using print forms or templatesthat are stored digitally or in the form of data, there are variousadvantageous capabilities, including among others the ability to make arapid conversion of the production line 3 to different products, to setand/or adapt the size of the impressions 2 to the size of the packagingunits etc. It is also possible to achieve an easy conversion of theprinted impressions 2 simply by a reprogramming and/or a modification ofthe program of the electronic control device 17. In particular it isalso possible, while the process is running, to modify the printedimpressions 2 and thus the appearance of the packaging units, forexample to reconfigure the printed image for each packaging unit 1, inparticular so that each printed image is a combination of a constant orunchanging component and variable content and/or information. Thechanging components of the printing can be, for example, numeric oralphanumeric information, for example information relating to the dateof manufacture or the sell-by or use-by date and or information in theform of a numerical code etc.

It goes without saying that the feed velocity of the packaging material1.1, at least in the vicinity of the print heads 11, is regulated by theelectronic control device 17, and specifically in synchronization withthe actuation of the print heads 11, to thereby achieve a clear,high-quality printed image. It also goes without saying that in thevicinity of the print heads 11 there are centering and guide means forthe packaging material 1.1, to optimally orient this material withrespect to the print heads 11, but also and in particular to correctlymaintain the specified distance between the print heads 11 and thepackaging material 1.1.

In the preheater unit 8 which is upstream of the printing unit 9 and ofthe print heads 11 located in it, the packaging material 1.1 ispreheated so that the printing ink cures or sets the print and/or colorsets produced by the individual print heads 11 at least to the extentthat an undesirable fixing of the individual printing inks or printand/or color sets is prevented. To improve the printed impression interms of contrast and/or sharpness, the preheating device 8 can alsohave other elements, such as for example a corona element (not shown),with which the packaging material 1.1 is electrostatically charged atleast on its surface to be printed prior to the printing.

In the unit 10 that is downstream of the printing unit 9 in thedirection of feed or transport A, the printing ink is dried or set, andspecifically by heating or in another suitable manner, for example bysetting under UV light etc.

The invention was described above on the basis of one exemplaryembodiment. It goes without saying that numerous modifications andvariations are possible without thereby going beyond the teaching of theinvention.

For example, the above description is based on the assumption that thepackaging material 1.1 is a flat material from which the individualpackages 1 are formed by cutting and folding. Basically, the packagingmaterial 1.1 can also be a tubular material, from which the individualpackages are formed by appropriate cutting and sealing.

The above description is also based on the assumption that there is onlyone printing unit 9. Naturally a plurality of printing units can also beused, including printing units that are offset from one another, inparticular in the direction of travel A and/or transverse to thedirection of travel A.

The corresponding foreign and international patent publicationapplications, namely, Federal Republic of Germany Patent Application No.10 2006 019 994.4, filed on Apr. 26, 2006, having inventor Volker TILL,and DE-OS10 2006 019 994.4 and DE-PS10 2006 019 994.4, and InternationalApplication No. PCT/EP2007/003680, filed on Apr. 26, 2007, having WIPOPublication No. WO2007/124913 and inventor Volker TILL, are herebyincorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein forthe purpose of correcting and explaining any possible misinterpretationsof the English translation thereof. In addition, the publishedequivalents of the above corresponding foreign and international patentpublication applications, and other equivalents or correspondingapplications, if any, in corresponding cases in the Federal Republic ofGermany and elsewhere, and the references and documents cited in any ofthe documents cited herein, such as the patents, patent applications andpublications, are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth intheir entirety herein.

The purpose of incorporating the foreign equivalent patent applicationPCT/EP2007/003680 and German Patent Application 10 2006 019 994.4 issolely for the purpose of providing a basis of correction of any wordingin the pages of the present application, which may have beenmistranslated or misinterpreted by the translator. Words relating toopinions and judgments of the author and not directly relating to thetechnical details of the description of the embodiments therein are notto be incorporated by reference. The words all, always, absolutely,consistently, preferably, guarantee, particularly, constantly, ensure,necessarily, immediately, endlessly, avoid, exactly, continually,expediently, need, must, only, perpetual, precise, perfect, require,requisite, simultaneous, total, unavoidable, and unnecessary, or wordssubstantially equivalent to the above-mentioned word in this sentence,when not used to describe technical features of one or more embodiments,are not generally considered to be incorporated by reference herein.

Statements made in the original foreign patent applicationsPCT/EP2007/003680 and DE 10 2006 019 994.4 from which this patentapplication claims priority which do not have to do with the correctionof the translation in this patent application are not to be included inthis patent application in the incorporation by reference.

NOMENCLATURE

-   1 Packaging-   1.1 Packaging material-   2 Printed impression-   3 Production line-   4 Unit-   5 Supply of the packaging material 1.1-   6 Conveyor-   7 Printing station-   8 Preheater unit-   9 Printing unit-   10 Unit for drying the printed ink-   11 Print head-   12 Housing-   12.1 Housing segment-   13 Housing interior-   14 Individual nozzle-   15 Aperture-   16 Electrode-   17 Control device-   18 Printed dot-   A Direction of feed or travel of the packaging material 1.1-   B Direction of transport

1-34. (canceled)
 35. A method of forming, filling, and sealingliquid-beverage packages from a strip of flat packaging material using aliquid-beverage packaging machine, said packaging machine comprising: asupply roll of flat packaging material; a form-fill-seal machine beingconfigured and disposed to receive packaging material from said supplyroll; said form-fill-seal machine being configured to roll packagingmaterial into a tube, seal an end of the tubular packaging material,fill the sealed, tubular packaging material with a liquid beverage, andseal and cut off sections of the filled, tubular packaging material toform filled, sealed liquid-beverage packages; a conveyor beingconfigured and disposed to move liquid-beverage packages from saidform-fill-seal machine to a packing station; a printing arrangementbeing disposed between said supply roll and said form-fill-seal machine;said supply roll being configured and disposed to move the labelingmaterial to said form-fill-seal machine in a horizontal orientationunder and past said printing arrangement; said printing arrangementbeing configured to print at least one of text and images on the side ofthe labeling material facing said printing arrangement as the labelingmaterial is being moved past said printing arrangement to saidform-fill-seal machine; said printing arrangement comprises: apreheating and electrostatic-charging unit being configured and disposedto preheat and electrostatically charge the labeling material; aprinting unit being configured and disposed to print on the preheatedand electrostatically-charged labeling material across a substantialportion of the width of the preheated and electrostatically-chargedlabeling material; and a drying unit being configured and disposed todry the ink on the printed labeling material; said printing unitcomprising a plurality of electrostatic print heads comprising at leasta first electrostatic print head, a second electrostatic print head, anda third electrostatic print head, each being configured to print adifferent primary color; each of said print heads having a longitudinalaxis transverse or perpendicular to the feed direction of the packagingmaterial; each of said print heads comprising: a housing beingconfigured and disposed to hold a supply of ink therein; a plurality ofindividually-actuatable nozzles for the controlled discharge of ink;said nozzles being arranged in at least one row, one after another alongsaid print head longitudinal axis; each of said nozzles comprising anelectrode and a corresponding aperture; each of said apertures having across-sectional diameter configured to produce a surface tension of theink such that ink does not escape from said housing via said aperturesupon its corresponding electrode being inactive; and each of saidelectrodes being configured to be activated in a pulsed manner todischarge ink via its corresponding aperture to produce a printed dot onthe packaging material; said method comprising the steps of: moving flatpackaging material in a horizontal orientation from said supply roll tosaid form-fill-seal machine; printing with said printing arrangement atleast one of text and images on the side of the labeling material facingsaid printing arrangement as the labeling material is being moved pastsaid printing arrangement to said form-fill-seal machine, said step ofprinting comprising: preheating and electrostatically charging thelabeling material with said preheating and electrostatic-charging unit;activating said electrodes of said first print head and discharging inkvia their corresponding apertures to produce printed dots on thepackaging material of a first primary color; activating said electrodesof said second print head and discharging ink via their correspondingapertures to produce printed dots on the packaging material of a secondprimary color different from the first primary color; activating saidelectrodes of said third print head and discharging ink via theircorresponding apertures to produce printed dots on the packagingmaterial of a third primary color different from each of the first andsecond primary colors; and drying the ink on the printed labelingmaterial with said drying unit; rolling the printed packaging materialinto a tube with the printed side forming the exterior surface of thetube; sealing an end of the tubular packaging material; filling thesealed, tubular packaging material with a liquid beverage; sealing andcutting off sections of the filled, tubular packaging material andforming filled, sealed liquid-beverage packages; and movingliquid-beverage packages on said conveyor from said form-fill-sealmachine to a packing station.
 36. The method according to claim 35,wherein: said printing arrangement produces the printed image as afunction of an electrical control device; said printing arrangementgenerates the printed image as a function of templates that are storedelectronically or in the form of software in the control unit; for theproduction of a multiple-color printed image, a color set of theimpression is associated with each print head; and said drying unitcomprises at least one of a heater and an ultraviolet light.
 37. Aliquid-beverage packaging machine for forming, filling, and sealingliquid-beverage packages from a strip of flat packaging material, saidpackaging machine comprising: a supply roll of flat packaging material;a form-fill-seal machine being configured and disposed to receivepackaging material from said supply roll; said form-fill-seal machinebeing configured to roll packaging material into a tube, seal an end ofthe tubular packaging material, fill the sealed, tubular packagingmaterial with a liquid beverage, and seal and cut off sections of thefilled, tubular packaging material to form filled, sealedliquid-beverage packages; a conveyor being configured and disposed tomove liquid-beverage packages from said form-fill-seal machine to apacking station; a printing arrangement being disposed between saidsupply roll and said form-fill-seal machine; said supply roll beingconfigured and disposed to move the labeling material to saidform-fill-seal machine in a horizontal orientation under and past saidprinting arrangement; said printing arrangement being configured toprint at least one of text and images on the side of the labelingmaterial facing said printing arrangement as the labeling material isbeing moved past said printing arrangement to said form-fill-sealmachine; said printing arrangement comprises: a preheating andelectrostatic-charging unit being configured and disposed to preheat andelectrostatically charge the labeling material; a printing unit beingconfigured and disposed to print on the preheated andelectrostatically-charged labeling material across a substantial portionof the width of the preheated and electrostatically-charged labelingmaterial; and a drying unit being configured and disposed to dry the inkon the printed labeling material; said printing unit comprising aplurality of electrostatic print heads comprising at least a firstelectrostatic print head, a second electrostatic print head, and a thirdelectrostatic print head, each being configured to print a differentprimary color; each of said print heads having a longitudinal axistransverse or perpendicular to the feed direction of the packagingmaterial; each of said print heads comprising: a housing beingconfigured and disposed to hold a supply of ink therein; a plurality ofindividually-actuatable nozzles for the controlled discharge of ink;said nozzles being arranged in at least one row, one after another alongsaid print head longitudinal axis; each of said nozzles comprising anelectrode and a corresponding aperture; each of said apertures having across-sectional diameter configured to produce a surface tension of theink such that ink does not escape from said housing via said aperturesupon its corresponding electrode being inactive; and each of saidelectrodes being configured to be activated in a pulsed manner todischarge ink via its corresponding aperture to produce a printed dot onthe packaging material.
 38. The packaging machine according to claim 37,wherein: said printing arrangement produces the printed image as afunction of an electrical control device; said printing arrangementgenerates the printed image as a function of templates that are storedelectronically or in the form of software in the control unit; for theproduction of a multiple-color printed image, a color set of theimpression is associated with each print head; and said drying unitcomprises at least one of a heater and an ultraviolet light.
 39. Amethod for the preparation of packaging units (1) for the packaging of abulk material or material to be packaged, whereby the packaging units(1) are formed immediately before and/or during the filling with thebulk material or material to be packaged in a filling and packagingplant (4) from a packaging material which is fed to the plant,characterized in that the packaging material (1.1) is printed in atleast one printing station (7) as this material is being fed.
 40. Themethod according to claim 39, wherein the printing of the packagingmaterial (1.1) in the at least one printing station (7) takes placeafter the extraction of this material from a supply (5).
 41. The methodaccording to claim 40, wherein one of: the packaging material (1) priorto the printing is a neutral material without a printed impression; orthe packaging material (1) prior to the printing is a partly pre-printedmaterial and that the printing of the packaging material (1.1)supplements or adds to a printed image that is already present on thismaterial.
 42. (canceled)
 43. The method according to claim 41, whereinthe packaging material (1.1) is printed in multiple colors.
 44. Themethod according to claim 43, wherein the packaging material (1.1) isprinted using at least one printing station (7) or one printing unit (9)which generates the print and/or the printed image as a function of anelectronic control unit (17).
 45. The method according to claim 44,wherein the printing station (7) or printing unit (9) generates theprinted image as a function of templates that are stored electronicallyor as software in the control unit (17).
 46. The method according toclaim 45, wherein the printed image is modified or varied at leastpartly during the production process.
 47. The method according to claim46, wherein the packaging material (1.1) is printed transverse to alongitudinal direction of the packaging material or transverse to thefeed direction (A) of the packaging material (1.1), and specifically,for example, across the entire width or a majority of the width of thepackaging material (1.1).
 48. The method according to claim 47, whereinthe printing takes place during a relative movement between thepackaging material (1.1) and the printing unit (9) or of at least oneprint head (11) of the printing unit (9).
 49. The method according toclaim 48, wherein the packaging material (1.1) is moved relative to theprinting unit (9) and/or to the at least one print head (11).
 50. Themethod according to claim 49, wherein: the at least one printing unit(9) has at least one electrostatic print head (11) with a plurality ofindividually actuatable individual nozzles (14) for the controlleddischarge of ink, and that the individual nozzles (14) are arranged oneafter another in at least one row in a print head longitudinal axis(DL); the relative movement between the at least one print head (11) andthe film material is transverse or perpendicular to the print headlongitudinal axis (DL); the packaging material (1.1) is orientedhorizontally or at least essentially horizontally during the printing;the at least one print head (11) is located above the packaging material(1.1) to be printed; there are at least two and preferably at leastthree print heads (11); for the production of a multiple-colorimpression, a color set of this impression is produced with each printhead (11); the ink, after it has been applied to the packaging material(1.1), is dried or set by the application of energy, e.g. by heatingand/or UV-light; and the packaging material (1.1) is heated and/orstatically charged prior to the printing. 51-57. (canceled)
 58. A devicefor performing the method according to claim 39, whereby the packagingunits (1) are formed in a filling and packaging plant (4) from apackaging material fed from a supply before and/or during the fillingwith the material to be filled or packaged, wherein between the supply(5) and a station (4) for the formation of the packaging units (1) thereis at least one printing unit (9) for the printing of the packagingmaterial (1.1).
 59. The device according to claim 58, wherein the atleast one printing unit (9) is realized for a multiple-color printing ofthe packaging material (5.1).
 60. The device according to claim 59,wherein the at least one printing unit (9) produces the printed image asa function of an electrical control device (17).
 61. The deviceaccording to claim 60, wherein the at least one printing unit (9)generates the printed image as a function of templates that are storedelectronically or in the form of software in the control unit (17). 62.The device according to claim 61, wherein: the printing unit (9) or atleast one print head (11) of this unit prints the packaging material(1.1) by lines across its longitudinal direction, and specifically, forexample, over the entire width or a majority of this width; said devicecomprises means for the production of the relative movement between thepackaging material (1.1) and the at least one printing unit (9) or atleast one print head (11) of this printing unit (9) during the printing;said device comprises feed means with which the packaging material (1.1)is moved relative to the at least one printing unit (9) and to the atleast one print head (11) located in or on it; the at least one printingunit (9) has at least one electrostatic print head (11) with a pluralityof individually actuatable individual nozzles (14) for the controlleddischarge of ink, and that the individual nozzles (14) are arranged inat least one row, one after another in a print head longitudinal axis(DL); the at least one print head (11) is oriented with a print headlongitudinal axis (DL) transverse or perpendicular to the feed direction(B) of the packaging material (1.1); the packaging material (1.1) isoriented horizontally or essentially horizontally during the printing;the at least one print head (11) is located above the packaging material(1.1); the device comprises at least two and preferably by at leastthree print heads (11); for the production of a multiple-color printedimage, a color set of the impression is associated with each print head(11); said device comprises means (10) for the drying of the ink afterit has been applied to the packaging material (1.1) by the applicationof energy, for example by heating and/or by UV light; and said devicecomprises means (8) for the heating and/or for the electrostaticcharging of the packaging material (1.1) prior to the printing. 63-72.(canceled)